A lower spec CPU & less RAM can = lightening fast if the hardware is well matched with a streamlined OS. This is one thing that people with little background in Apple products often overlook. This is why Apple does not dwell on specs as much as their competitors and why their competitors keep going back to specs. A lot of a computer's resources are swallowed up by Windows' bloated code. No different than comparing a tractor or combine. Huge, heavy machines will take power to pull themselves through the mud which will limit how much is left to do the work the operator intends.